Toy building structure



April "1931- N. H. HEFTEh 1,800,628

TOY BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 18, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l P 1931- N. H. HEFTER 1,800,628

TOY BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 18. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'Patentecl Apr. 14, 1931 NORMAN H. HEFTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS TOY BUILDING STRUCTURE Application filed 'February 18, 1929. Serial No. 340,824.

g a This invention relates to improvements in toy building structures andit consists of the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointedout in the appended claim.

he primary object of the invention is to provide a toy building structure in the form of a kit comprising not only the requisite number'of elements to be assembled in buildingform but also the necessary implements 1e and "material for assembling the same in building form in a manner simulating masonary.

Another object of the invention is to pro- Vide a structure of this kind comprising parts to be assembled upon a supporting base having delineated thereon means to be followed in assembling the parts whereby error in such assembly for a particular type of toy building is reduced to a minimum.

Still another object of the invention is to provide. a structure of this kind which will be instructive for children and at the same time will provide a source of amusement for'them in assembling the various parts to produce a toy building or buildings of various kinds which may be moved about as a whole upon an associated base without danger of collapse or falling apart while so being moved. 7

These objects of the invention as well as others, together with the many advantages thereof, will more fully appear as I proceed with my specification.

' In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a toy building simulating a railroad depot of conventional form embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view through the assembled toy building as taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through the ridge of the roof of the building as taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view in obverse or top plan view of the base upon which the toy building is to be constructed.

Fig. 5 is a view in reverse or bottom plan view of the base shown in Fig. 4. H Y Fig. v6 is a perspective view of one of the elements simulating a brick, forming a part of the improved structure.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing one form of roof supporting element employed in my improved structure. 7

Figs. 8, 9 and 10, respectively, are perspective views of implements employed in assembling the various elements into a toy building and which form parts of each complete kit as presented for sale.

Fig. 11 is a perspective View of a clip employed to connect the eaves strips of the roof together at the corners.

Fig. 12 is a detail vertical section through the eaves portion of the roof and top edge of an assembled wall as taken on the line 1212 of Fig. 1.

In general, my invention contemplates the provision of a kit or set of elements which, when assembled according to adirection sheet forming a part of such kit or set,will result in the production of a toy building that may be moved about in ordinary play without collapsing or falling apart. Such a kit or set includes a supporting base which has delineated thereon one or more outline plans to be followed in arranging the building elements thereon to form one of a number of walls of miniature buildings well-known to children. Upon said base in conformity with the plan delineated thereon, the ele ments are arranged and are secured together preferably by a suitable cementitious material to provide the upright wall of the build ing. During the assembling of the wall units, miniature door and window frames, together with doors and windows are assembled and secured in place. Thereafter the elements designed to make up aroof are assembled into roof form, which is then placed upon the building wall to complete the assembly of the toy building.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, 1 indicates as a whole a base or support upon which the elements hereinafter referred to are assembled into building form. Such a base, which may be made of any suitable light-weight material such as Wood or fibrous wall-board, is of a planiarea greaterthanihat ofithebuilding f or both sides ofthe baseQQwithin the margins to be'assembled-or erected thereon; On one thereof, is delineated one or more plans defining the simple outline ofa' pluraiityrof conventional buildings Well knownto chil- V dren, ;such as railroaddepots, garages and the like; InIFig'. 4%,Ivhave.ilinstraitedthe top lineated thereon'full and dotted linesf2 and buildings andthe bottom orreverseside of the baSe'lihasj likewise delineated thereon, in full and dotted 1ines- 23 -a nd.;2.,a respeotiveiy, two other-simple forms of buildings. The line 2onthe -obverse side. of the base defines the plan for" the conventional; toy raii- ,roadrdepotshown Figxle Upon: theonti'ne 2"- lthus delineated upon the base; may be arranged-the elements of 7 the set providing the1Wa-l1s-3 .ozt :thebniiding;

Preferablysnbhi Walls are made upot elements 4- .4 simulating weii' knownibtiilding elements such asout stone or" brick and in miniature form; V Snehgmbriok element is best s'hownlin-Fi gn 6: and comprises Ia rec-tancove'ring of materialifixandathis eowering'maitieriat is preferably cementitions whichiwill harden drya to fully" protect the: more.

upon: the base, si1ie1ements- 7 secured in: .poo sitionjbyfmeans of aroementitious materiala 10; "forms; a 'partioflthe; kit, comes inia; can 7;, -Q With a,removableioowerilfi and this matei- V Pia/1H8 is removed-from the can by ap addie 7 '1 1i as best shewnt in Fig; 'Thiemateriai lz'l-hisima' teriai, bearing, the numeral 81in;

is "applied to one side and: to the.aends oitrthe 7 that no sill elementqis plaleed-upontherspace place iiponitheb-a' V j elementsrbeing wider than saidbrieki eie up of the} Walls vWindow frames, 145; are. ce; 7V inented; in place; 1 Each window frame-- car riesa pane-15 mai'rked ofi in any suitable ,manner to 'simuiatesash and thispane' is se- .m entsas 'best shown fin-TFig; 2. Ingiaying' V V theseveral 'coursesgithe jolnts-areistaggered as in brick laying and: during,- the "building elllifid: t .the assoei-atefd-flWindow frame by ad;

has shown in Fig. ,2

V I I 7 ]En *azpp1yingi the -Si' 1l members vto the base and when following the delineatediplan fthereon, itis' apparent seg adoor frame" =3iis' setup verging edgeszdisposed (m corner rat-tier members 26426 Thereafter which ishingodly seoured along one side of the frame as by a of adhesive tape 18 when the was hm beenfblii'lt-"up; of

hesive" tapes iAssooiated 'with 'the V door frame is a member 17 to simulate a door brick elementsatethe fproperih'eightg the roof q of the bui ltiing -is next.assembledtrom' parts provided with the'kit5 after which, the roof 7 as arwhole is positioned upon said Walls in, supportingreiation-with respect thereto! "Theelements for the roof comprise four eaves; strips"l9 l9 which are miti'ed attheir corners-:andar-ie secured together in open ,frame -like rel at'ion by' corner clips 20, As

best. shown in: iEig.. 1-1 each vclip includes prongs 21+-21 tdbe fonoed-i into) salidrieaveg V the Latter 'being preter'ably made of, a soft ood. 1' E eaves; strip" provi-ded-rzailo-nfg its inner top-corner withia rabb'et/22, and

ovi'detil along-i its each eaves: strip is- ,also? inner surftaee with one-13o moregiangle clips to ng n the bp dge z it e-m ir ousEWall. parts to; support theroof or eaves strip-tra nee in: position-impensaid wallsi I In. connection withthe fnamemadernp:

the eaves strips, I provide'arafterandridge strip structure for: seen-ring roofing material in operative relation withrespeetftothe eaves strip frame: :In'Fig/Z I haveillustratedone convenient form of structure for; this purpose comprising a pair -oft edgewise;disposed me tallie strips: 2t+24, .eaeh; bent toprovide an intermediateridge pjortim42,5 and endcorner and are seouredtogether pne ferabl y by bend 7 ing over punched ontztongues intone-{poli- 1 tion.othrough-"registeringopenings 2.8 the 1 .sil'l elements 7 ,Whioh are.then-plagzedainpm I o sitiony.;-:n pon1 the? plan;,l;being: employed: so as T tonadhereto; the base and. to;adjoiningvparts er; adjacent sillei'iiient s other-portion,1 Zhenjthese stripsiare thnsasisembl edpthere -Will: be formedias silbstantial structure eomprisinga iengitudinatridge and four outwardly and downwardl'y f diiierg ing rafters adapted torest at theirendfs upontth'e nt the eaves frame. ,In fthi's respect eaohfraf-ter portion is betreled'jofi at its not as at 29t'o'rest upon theieay'es Erame andeabh ridge; and rafter portion has. .oppositelydisposed punched out tong'ueslSO-Q-BOLQRbot-seca i tions 31' of propershape andar V r d prefer7 ably madeio'f oompo'sitioniqofi are pro.-

ofthejieai es stripsiand'lonth tongu s: {th ridge portions: 25%25-"an' it-li their 1'Q0112. etonguesjoit' the adhesive strips 32 "are d;ispos ed jover' the tep edges? of t he ridge and' rafiterilportions and I their extreme "ends-, down? ripen thei corners 'yided inf the which-are. then in place 7 V With theirparallei edges re of the ridge; striip;firame The roofthusiasengage thereon through the agency of the clips 23 before mentioned.

To remove the excess cementitious material extruded from between the several brick elements, there is included in the kit or set a device 38 best shown in Fig. 8 which is formed at one end to provide a scraper 34 and at the other end to provide a brush 35. By running the scraper over the seams between the brick elements, most of the excess may thus be removed and the retained particles may then be brushed off. To tuck point the seams the paddle 11 is thinned off at one end as at 11 to provide a tool edge by which the cementitious material in the seams may be smoothed off.

With the kit or set as above described, which reaches the purchaser neatly packed in a box provided for the same, several toy buildings may be assembled. In this respect it is pointed out that the cementitious material mentioned is of such a character that while it sets hard enough to hold the elements together, it does not set so hard as to prevent the disassembly thereof when so desired be cause the elements may be broken apart and the adhering material may be removed there from by use of the device 33 and restored to that condition practical for reuse in assemling other structures delineated upon the ase.

The toy buildings thus assembled may be well used in connection with the electrical miniature railway sets, now so popular as childrens toys, to provide more background for such sets bythe building up of miniature villages and the like.

The structure is constructively educational and may be utilized for its intended purpose without the aid of such tools as would produce noise objectionable to grownups.

While in describing my invention, I have refered in detail to the form, and arrangement as well as the assembly of the several parts thereof, the same is to be considered merely as illustrative of one phase of the invention so that I do not Wish to be limited thereto except as may be pointed out in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A toy building structure comprising a base and a plurality of wall elements, said base having delineated thereon suitable markings defining the plan of a building and outline of the wall elements to be placed thereon, to guide the arrangement of said elements into desired wall form upon said base, which elements are adapted to be operatively secured together and to the base by means of a cementitious material and a roof structure supported upon said wall form.

V In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 13th day of February, 1929.

NORMAN H. HEFTER. 

